Globetrotters Down Wesley, All-Stars 75-63
MINNEAPOLIS -- Former Louisville player Alex Sanders scored 18 points and added six rebounds as the Harlem Globetrotters defeated the National Association of Basketball Coaches College All-Stars 75-63 before a record crowd of 15, 253 in the second NABC Roundball Challenge presented by Ocean Spray, held March 30 in Minneapolis.
Kyle Hill of Eastern Michigan led the All-Stars with 10 points while Iowa's Dean Oliver and California's Sean Lampley contributed nine points each. BYU's Mekeli Wesley added four points and one rebound in 15 minutes.
Following Sanders in the scoring column for the Globetrotters was Donnie Boyce, who played at Colorado, with 16 points. The Globetrotters won their second straight Roundball Challenge and have won 263 consecutive games overall. They won last year's game 82-80 on a last-second shot.
The attendance at this year's event was the largest in the 38-year history of the association's annual all-star game and broke the old mark of 14,756 set in Indianapolis in 1970.
After falling behind by as many as 16 points in the first half, the All-Stars battled back and took their first lead of the game at 47-46 on a free throw by Georgia's Anthony Evans with 16:11 left to play. The All-Stars still led by one with 9:24 to go but the Globetrotters regained the lead on a jumper by Boyce and led the rest of the way.
"We tried to take advantage of our size," said Globetrotters' head coach Milton Barnes. "The All-Stars had a lot of quickness and it got them back in the game. We continued to play our game and took what they gave us."
The Globetrotters shot 39 percent from the field and held the All-Stars to just 29.1 percent, including 5-of-27 from three-point range. They also out battled the All-Stars on the boards 61-55.
"We got ahead of them in the second half and that was pretty good for a team that only had one practice," said NABC coach Gene Keady. "We knew we had to do well rebounding and we did. It was fun and I liked our effort."
Hill was named MVP for the All-Stars while Sanders picked up the honors for the Globetrotters.
"The Globetrotters were a tough team to play," said Hill. "We battled back when we started rebounding and got the ball down low to our big guys. We started hitting our shots once we got over the early jitters. We battled but they were too tough tonight."
In the first half, the Globetrotters went on an early 11-0 run and led 17-5 when Joe Blair stole a pass at midcourt and converted a three-point play with 14:53 left. The All-Stars stayed close and used a 7-0 run, including four points from California's Sean Lampley, to close the gap to 27-22 with 7:51 remaining. But the Globetrotters put together another 11-0 run and grabbed their largest lead of the half, 38-23, at the 6:15 mark on a layin by Blair.
The All-Stars immediately rattled off 10 unanswered points and trailed by just six points, 38-32, when Tony Stanley of Dayton hit a jumper with 3:20 left before halftime. The All-Stars closed the gap further when Eastern Illinois' Kyle Hill connected on a 15-foot jumper as time expired to bring the All-Stars to within four points, 43-39, at the break.
"We're happy to get a win of any kind," said Globetrotters' owner Mannie Jackson. "The NABC put together another good team this year. We played up and down but I was proud of the heart they showed. We had a much better team than last year and they did too. That makes for a good game for the fans, which is what it ought to be about."
Next year's game is scheduled for the Phillips Arena in Atlanta during Final Four weekend.
Slam Dunk, Hot Shot Shootout
Globetrotter forward Michael Wilson won the NABC Slam Dunk Challenge with a near-perfect dunk over teammate Trey Moore that earned him 49 points and the championship.
Wilson edged the University of Dayton's Tony Stanley in the finals.
On his final dunk attempt, Wilson positioned Moore near the free throw block. Then, with a running start, he leapt over Moore and completed the spectacular dunk that brought the crowd to its feet.
Wilson advanced to the finals with 95 overall points, including a perfect dunk that earned him 50 points from the judges.
In the Hot Shot Shootout, Globetrotter Jessie Drain and Stanley teamed to defeat Moore and Eastern Illinois' Kyle Moore 50-26 in the final. The winning pair connected on 10 5-point shots to claim the title.
At halftime of the Roundball Challenge, Wilson came up short in his attempt to break his own world record of dunking on a 12-foot basketball that he set at last year's game.
"Michael can get it," said Globetrotters' owner Mannie Jackson. "He wanted to go a few more times tonight but he'll be more determined to get it next year. We're going to get him up to 12'2" maybe."
